North Minneapolis: An emerging market?

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Ellen P. Gabler

Staff Writer

Some might say there's already been enough blood, sweat and tears shed in north Minneapolis. But city officials and community leaders are looking for more -- this time from a population known for getting down and dirty, in a non-violent way: entrepreneurs.

"The main strategy is to have lots of individuals make private decisions that this is a good neighborhood to invest in," said Mike Temali, executive director of the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC), a St. Paul-based economic development nonprofit. "[When entrepreneurs say] 'I believe in its future,' ... that gives confidence to everybody. People read that as ... a rising tide and ... want to get on board."

Without the promise of a major corporation or employer spurring development in the area, local leaders are looking at entrepreneurs as community developers.

That can be a challenge in lower-income neighborhoods where residents are less likely to have the skills, resources or equity to launch their own businesses. Minorities also have a harder time tapping into business-starting resources, said Bruce Corrie, an economics professor at Concordia University in St. Paul who's also done extensive research on minority entrepreneurs.

In eight of north Minneapolis' nine poorest neighborhoods, blacks and Asians make up at least half of the population.

But it's not an impossible task. Local nonprofit and community development groups have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs launch their ventures, and some are promoting business development on the North Side.

For one, there's a major push to increase home ownership, which often provides equity to residents who aspire to open businesses.

There's also a move to spur business activity among African-Americans -- about 38 percent of north Minneapolis' population. The Minnesota Black Chamber is opening an office on West Broadway, and Ward 3 Council Member Don Samuels has pledged to revive his African American Economic Development Corp., which would encourage business development in the black community. Samuels started the organization in 2003, but it didn't take off.

The entrepreneurial lineup in north Minneapolis will likely look different than in other revamped areas. For example, new immigrants get credit for much of the commercial redevelopment on Lake Street in Minneapolis and University Avenue in St. Paul.

Immigrants often start businesses aimed at their own ethnic communities, said Tené Wells, executive director of WomenVenture, a St. Paul-based business development nonprofit. Ethnic restaurants are particularly popular, as are stores that serve the new immigrants. Hmong, for example, have started their own clothing stores in Minnesota because they have smaller body types than many Americans, she said.

Some of that is happening in north Minneapolis. Asian entrepreneurs have opened new chiropractic offices and Asian grocery stores on Lowry Avenue.

In the black community, things are different, Wells said. Generations of African-Americans typically didn't face language barriers and found work outside their own communities. That's how north Minneapolis became more of a "bedroom community," with residents leaving the area for work or to shop.

Immigrant entrepreneurs also benefit from "sweat equity" to get businesses off the ground, Wells said."You have to find a pool of people primarily who are going to work for nothing. The best source of that is family and friends."

Samuels said African-Americans don't have as many products or services unique to their culture. Besides businesses such as beauty care and funeral homes, African-Americans consume mainstream products and services, he said. And that's what black businesses should start selling. "We want to go beyond the businesses that white people have historically not wanted to do," he said.

Samuels also wants to infuse some immigrant "resiliency" and entrepreneurial drive into the black community, he said. "What we want to do is recreate artificially what the immigrant communities have naturally."

One way to do that is to create closer ties between black businesspeople so they can benefit from strong leadership and each other's momentum, Samuels said.

Mahmoud El-Kati, a retired professor of African-American history at Macalester College in St. Paul, winces when he hears people criticize the African-American community for failing to produce as many successful entrepreneurs as immigrants.

"The undertone is that black people are lazy," he said, adding that African-Americans face significant obstacles when looking to start new businesses, primarly overcoming decades of racism and oppression.

"We live in a really racially bigoted society," El-Kati said.

Don Samuels points to entrepreneurs like Tim Baylor as an example of what north Minneapolis needs.

Baylor owns two McDonald's -- one in north Minneapolis and another in Robbinsdale -- and is developer of the Riverview Homes project in the area. He's a north Minneapolis resident, ex-football player for the Minnesota Vikings and president of JADT Development Group.

"When you have an African-American that is willing to risk their life savings and their ego in a risky community, that guy is a hero," Samuels said.

But Baylor said he sees an opportunity to make money. "Businesses don't come before the business gets there," he said. "When there is disposable income or the prospect of disposable income ... businesses come."

Baylor thinks the surge of housing projects around north Minneapolis will draw more middle- and upper-income residents, adding to the community's economic base.

Business associations are trying to leverage success by tying small business owners' efforts together. The West Broadway Business Association has only 25 members, but they're pooling their resources for an advertising collaborative. The group also is lining up a private security guard for about 10 businesses to share.

The city's director of development, Mike Christenson, believes the piece-by-piece model of individual entrepreneurs revitalizing north Minneapolis will be just as effective as big corporations moving in.

"I don't have any doubt it will work. I think it'll be quicker. Small-business people work very fast. They understand market opportunity."

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